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Collaboration Tuesday

Craft beer brings people together-this is what we love about it. Different from shotgunning cans and pounding shots, we can gather over a pint and savor it, talk about it, and let the pressures of the week unwind. Nowhere is this more apparent than when breweries get together to produce great beer together.

On Tuesday of RBW 2016, there were two different collaboration releases involving three of the local breweries. We started our tour at Woody’s downtown. This is a fantastic example of what a brew pub should be. It’s friendly, has a great menu, and pours delicious beer in a variety of styles. They teamed up with Wildcard Brewing to make East Side/West Side Red IPA.

At Woody’s they had the bold, spicy ale on nitro. As a CO2 pour, I found it to be intense – starting fresh, but bursting in to bitterness like a hop grenade. There was minimal nose with that version and a lingering oily finish. On nitro, its texture slowed down the blast, making for more complex development of the flavors on the palate. Using nitrogen also somehow changed the nose, bringing out the beer’s herbaceous qualities. Try them both for yourself, but I enjoyed the nitro hands-down.

One of the more fun aspects of the collaboration release is that bartenders at both Wildcard’s Tied House and Woody’s pub wore shirts from the other brewery-a true showing of the spirit of brotherhood that exists between brewers.

Across town, Fall River Brewing Company also had a Collaboration Tuesday Release. For this, they teamed up with Living the Dream brewing in Littleton, Colorado. As an aside, I suggest you check out their news blog coverage of the Russian Imperial release.

Collaboration Tuesday’s pour was a hazy Belgian White ale. It smelled sour and slightly acidic, but in the mouth was perfectly smooth with only a hint of the strong nose. There was a tiny tinge of bitterness that dissapated instantly to floral sweetness. I would fly to Colorado immediately to try more from Living the Dream, but why? If Tuesday was any indication, Redding Beer Week is sure to turn up more amazing brews before the week is done. Follow my footsteps and make sure to visit Woody’s, the Tied House, and Fall River for some collaboration, conversation, and community.

Na Zdrovya!

Thanks to Tyler V. Lockamy for providing the nicer photographs in this article.